Few watches are regarded as an icon. The aspiration to create a watch that is im- mediately recognized by many purely by seeing its unique design, is shared by all watch companies. In the 1990s, Maurice Lacroix had such a watch, the Calypso. This iconic quartz timepiece graced the wrists of many style conscious wearers and proved very successful.
In 2016, the progressive watch company, Maurice Lacroix, has updated this iconic watch, aptly named the AIKON; a timepiece with a new, contemporary design, honed to modern tastes.
Building on its success, the Aikon family continues to grow with the release of new models. The iconic styling has proved popular with individuals who embrace success in their respective field.
AIKON Ladies 30mm
The new AIKON Ladies 30mm provides a stylish timepiece for ladies who seek diminu- tive proportions, slender lines and femininity from their watch. The stainless steel case is paired with a choice of silver, black or white mother-of-pearl dial options. The beauty of the latter version is augmented with 8 diamonds and 2N gold indexes.
Like the Masterpiece Double Retrograde watch, there is a print that says “Manufacture Movement” at 6 o’clock. It’s not often you see such a print on watches, but I will understand Maurice LaCroix’s eagerness to remind wearers that their movement is a tiny special.The blue dial variant is nice too, and definitely more showy due to the bright blue dial. The design of the dial is similar, but the concluding differs. The primary dial, by way of instance, includes Côtes de Genève finishing. And while the indications on the silver dial have Clous de Paris decoration, the blue dial version has guilloché made from concentric circles. The hour and minute hands, as well as the palms for the indicators and various indices, are rhodium-plated. In general legibility is just as fantastic as the silver dial version.The black dial variant (which we didn’t get to take hands, unfortunately) is more similar to the blue dial variation rather than the silver one. Much like the silver dial variation, the black dial model has vertical brushing on the primary dial. The signs have guilloché made from concentric circles. The palms and indices are rhodium-plated as well. The black dial variation is easily the dressiest and most serious of the trio.The Masterpiece Moon Retrograde is powered with the in-house ML192, a variant of the ML191 that drives the Masterpiece Double Retrograde. The finishing and decoration of the ML192 motion are similar to the ML191 also, with Côtes de Genève and diamond-cut edges on the bridges. Similarly, the huge rotor is rhodium-plated, marginally skeletonized, also features Côtes de Genève decoration as well.When we first wrote about these brand new watches before this year, there were a couple of remarks that criticized the lookout for its own styling. As I’ve stated many times before, never judge a watch from just press photographs, and certainly, these watches look much nicer in the flesh.
The hands of the watch are diamond cut, aiding legibility in daylight, while the addi- tion of white SuperLumiNova aids read-off during the nocturnal hours.
The model is presented with either a calf leather strap or a 5-rows brushed-polished stainless steel bracelet.
Aikon Gents 42mm
The AIKON Gents 42mm has a neat, flat sapphire crystal, allowing it to reside tidily beneath a stylish shirt cuff. The dial is presented with an anthracite dial featuring sil- ver printing and rhodium details. Prospective purchasers can choose a calf leather strap adorned with an integrated, applied polished ‘M’ logo or, alternatively, can select a 5 rows brushed bracelet in stainless steel.
However, while this is a new model, the familiar iconic design elements of the Aikon remain. The horizontal lines which span the dial and the six arms which embrace the bezel help to imbue this model with its distinctive identity and make it an AIKON to be cherished.